College football 2010: Georgia wins nine, Tech loses four
Washaun Ealey's Bulldogs will again run this state. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
It’s time — actually, it’s a week past due — for our annual Memorial Day college football predictions, and I begin with a word in my defense: I actually got a few things right the last time around. I said Georgia Tech would go 10-2 and win the ACC, which it did. I said Georgia would lose four games, inducing many among you to cast aspersions; the Bulldogs actually lost five games. Against that cheery backdrop, we begin:
• Georgia will go 9-3 but will finish third in the SEC East. Todd Grantham represents an upgrade. Given time, Aaron Murray will represent an upgrade. Thing is, the Bulldogs’ second game is in Columbia, and that seems a bridge too far. (More precisely, a bridge too soon.) The guess is that Georgia will be rolling come November, but that Sept. 11 loss — and one the next week against Arkansas in Athens — will keep the Bulldogs from a true breakthrough.
• Georgia’s true breakthrough? That comes in 2011.
• South Carolina will likewise lose three SEC games. It will shade Georgia in the East standings on the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Gamecocks will lose to Auburn, Alabama and Florida.
• Florida will go 11-1 because of a remarkably kind schedule. The Gators play four road games: Two against teams (Tennessee and Florida State) with new coaches and one against Vanderbilt. The Gators will lose in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 2, but they’ll see Alabama again.
• Florida will beat Alabama for the SEC title. Just one of my dumb hunches. Like the one that told me Texas would beat the Tide for the BCS crown. And the Longhorns would have except for Mack Brown’s SHOVEL PASS! (Don’t get me started.) (Alas, too late.)
• Don’t get me wrong: Alabama will be outstanding. But I recall the 2008 BCS titlist going undefeated in the regular season and losing beneath the Georgia Dome. I don’t believe the Tide in 2010 will be any better than the Gators were in 2009. And I do believe it’s tough to go through the SEC unbeaten twice in succession.
• Florida will beat a Big Ten representative for the BCS title. I’m tempted to pick the Big Ten rep, but I’ve seen that game before. I know how it ends.
• The Big Ten rep will not be Ohio State. It will be Iowa. Ask Paul Johnson about the Hawkeyes.
• Tim Tebow will win the Heisman Trophy. Whoops. Force of habit. Case Keenum — Houston QB — will win the Heisman Trophy.
• Boise State will go 11-1 but will be remembered for the “1,” not the “11.” The Broncos play Virginia Tech in Washington D.C. on Sept. 6. That’s a Labor Day “L.”
• The ACC Coastal will be the nation’s toughest division. There’s not a great team therein, but there are four good ones. Miami will be the disappointment. North Carolina will be the surprise. Virginia Tech will win the division. And Georgia Tech …
• … will finish third. I yield to no one in my esteem for Joshua Nesbitt, who had a busy offseason. (He had surgery and added two vowels to his first name.) But I cannot believe a team that bid adieu to four NFL draftees early will be quite as good. (Didn’t Georgia suffer a bit without Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno?) The Jackets will lose three road conference games: At North Carolina, at Clemson, at Virginia Tech.
• Florida State will win the ACC Atlantic. By default.
• Under Derek Dooley, Tennessee will win its final four games. The Vols will, however, lose six of their first eight.
• Southern Cal will finish fifth in the Pac-10. Lane Kiffin: Money for nothing and quips for free.
• Georgia will beat Georgia Tech. A.J. Green will catch the winning touchdown pass from Murray with 41 seconds remaining. The score will be 27-24. Paul Johnson will suppress the urge to punch somebody in the face.
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668 comments Add your comment
Al
June 6th, 2010
5:04 pm
50% OF SABAN’S YEARS, MR. SEE SAW GOES 8-5 OR WORSE, HAS A WHOLE BUNCH OF 6 WINS SEASONS, A COUIPLE OF 7 WIN SEASONS, AND A FEW 8 WINS SEASONS. HE’S A HM YO-YO, LUCKIEST GUY IN AMERICA, ALWAYS WINS WITH THER GUY’S PLAYERS, SRT OF LIKE MEYER IN THAT RE GARD.
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2010
5:17 pm
I don’t know about track records of bloggers, but I do know Meyer has a MUCH better track record than Richt. I’m going with that!
See ya in Jax!
Q
June 6th, 2010
5:18 pm
Grantham is great. wants a head coach job, not gonna let himself look dumb and lose that chance like Willie did.
guy is good. real good. Saban hired him at Mich St., tried to hire him to run his D in the NFL, and brought him in to teach Alabama how to play defense in the off-seasons.
let that sink in.
Grantham will be in top 20 in defensive scoring and yards allowed in 2010, top 10 in both in 2011 once he gets his recruits in there.
Will get 2+ takeaways a game both years. That’s the easiest thing to fix.
Sammy G
June 6th, 2010
5:24 pm
Richt’s 39-3 when he gets a 100 yard rusher.
The UGA O-Line has 155 starts of experience and is getting 240+ rushing a game over last 5 games, less than 13 sacks.
Phil Steele ranks O-Line #1 in nation.
Scout says Ealey will be a phenom in 2010 with his skils, and this O-Line. King, Thomas and Jackson can run well too. Plenty of depth there.
So, nobody on UGA’s schedule has a d-line and lb’s good enough to stop Georgia’s rushing attack, including Florida.
Simple, stay healthy, get a 100 yard rusher every game, Georgia goes 13-1 or 14-0.
BB Bulldog
June 6th, 2010
5:38 pm
Just wants guys that compete, hate to lose, Olson, Nick Williams, Ealey, AJ, Murray, Boykin, that’s what we need, playmakers with extra competitive spirit like a Kobe.
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2010
5:39 pm
Blah, blah, blah, We hear it every year. Never seems to make it down to Jax. Keep talking it up guys. You may even convince yourselves. By the way, why was Grantham the 5 th choice for DC? Was Richt too stupid to see that he was the best choice for the job or was Grantham just what he is….the 5th choice? Any answers?
Jessie
June 6th, 2010
5:53 pm
Georgia haters jump on our blog when Richt has a down year, remember back in 2001 or even back in 2006, same garbage, and every time, it backfires. Richt finishes #2 or #3 in the nation the next season, just like 2007 & 2002. But bless their little hearts, they keep dreaming.
In 1979, Georgia won 6 games, critics said Georgia shouldn’t hope to have a good season next year, in 1980, Georgia just went 12-0, Natl Champs.
Eat our dirt haters, ya’ll wuz wrong in 79, wrong in 2002, wrong in 2007, ya’ll be wrong in 2010.
Al
June 6th, 2010
5:54 pm
GRANTHAM WAS SABAN’S FIRST CHOICE AT MIAMI.
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2010
5:55 pm
Why was he Richt’s 5th choice?
Beast from the East
June 6th, 2010
5:59 pm
Jessie,
I’m not trying to spew hate, but it does grow old hearing how UGA is going to do this and do that every year. Why don’t you guys just wait and see what the product looks like on the field before you start claiming 13-1 or 14-0 seasons? Because the honest answer is that UGA COULD do as well as 13-1 or they could be as bad or worse than last year. None of you REALLY knows the answer. It’s just wishful thinking. Don’t think out loud. It usually comes back to make you look foolish.
GTOldSchool21
June 6th, 2010
6:00 pm
THWG…
Sammy G – you have a rookie QB. you are smoking crack. If he’s as good as Stafford, he’ll also love tickle piles. CMR is good at teaching young QBs how to underachieve. What exactly did Stafford win while at UGA? UGA will not make the SEC championship game so 9-4 at best is the target.
FromNYC
June 6th, 2010
6:07 pm
Al,
Saban has won two national titles at two different schools, and his Bama team hasn’t lost a regular season SEC game in two years. And you say “he’s mister up and down.” Gimme a freakin’ break. He’s “up” more times than any coach in college football. Bama is on a 14-game winning streak, has won 17 of its last 18 SEC games (including 16 in a row in the regular season).
At Bama, he’s put together three straight Top 5 recruiting classes and has more depth at each position than you have teeth. Don’t kid yourself about Bama’s defense. They’ll have the best front 7 in college football this year with players like Marcel Dareus, Dont’a Hightower and Josh Chapman, and they’re secondary will be a helluva lot better than you think, considering Mark Barron will be back there, and there is huge talent among the others as well. Bama played A LOT of people last season.
On offense, are you kidding me? You think Bama’s O-line is suspect? Man, get a life. Bama’s O is LOADED on all fronts, and Ingram and Richardson will run rampant this season.
It’ll be tough to repeat what they did last year. But I wouldn’t bet against them.
Al
June 6th, 2010
6:38 pm
CHECK NICK “MR SEE SAW” SABAN’S RECORD, HE’S THE MOST UP AND DOWN COACH IN AMERRICA. FINISHES 8 WINS OR LESS 50% OF HIS CAREER.
Jessie
June 6th, 2010
6:44 pm
In 79′, Georgia went 6-5. A terrible year for Georgia.
Was it wishful thinking to think georgia could follow a 6-5 year in 79 with a 12-0 National Championship in 1980? No.
Were the critics right in 1979 about Georgia’s chances in 1980? No.
In 80, 6-0 in SEC
In 81, 6-0 in SEC
In 82, 6-0 in SEC
Just because Georgia has 1 bad year, like 79′, doesn’t mean they can’t go on a 3 year run like 80-82 where they go undefeated in the SEC.
Critics were wrong in 79, wrong in 2002, wrong in 2005, wrong in 2007, they’re wrong in 2010.
Wrong every time Richt had a bad season. Every time.
Wrong in 2002, wrong in 2007, wrong in 2010.
Last One Out
June 6th, 2010
6:54 pm
Phil Steele’s the best in the buz, been following him for 12 years. His magazine has been the most on-the-money about last 12 years. Some of you may not know much about him, but if he says Georgia could go on a run, there’s a real good chance it could happen. The guy’s track record over 12 years is beyond compare. You can disagree that Georgia’s could go on a run in 2010, but if you do, THE most accurate guy, DISAGREES WITH YOU.
Al
June 6th, 2010
7:04 pm
WENT AND CHECKED. ANYONE OUT THERE WANT TO GUESS, THE 5 TIMES (P.S, THAT’S NOT TOO MANY IN A 16 YEAR CAREER) SABAN WON 9 GAMES OR MORE, IN HIS ENTIRE COAHCING CAREER, GUESS HOW MANY TIMES HE HAD A GREAT YEAR THE NEXT SEASON?
1. ONE. 1. OUT OF 5. 1 OUT 5. 4 OUT 5, HE DIDN’T.
SABAN’S THE LUCKIEST COACH ALIVE, NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 15 WIN %, JUST GETS LUCKY EVERY DECADE OR SO WITH ANOTHER COACHE’S PLAYERS.
Al
June 6th, 2010
7:10 pm
LAST TIME NICK “MR. SEE SAW’ SABAN WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, WENT 9-3 THE NEXT SEASON.
SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN’T HANDLE SUCCESS.
MR. SEE SAW IS ONE OF THOSE FELLAS.
Camden Mark
June 6th, 2010
7:12 pm
UGA 11-1,1 loss to Auburn.
Beats surprise west champ Ol Miss for SEC title.
Plays title game against MWC champs Air Force Falcons…….losing by 1, 28-27.
Why not?Anything anyone says this time of year is pure speculaitive crap anyway,it could happen.
Al
June 6th, 2010
7:13 pm
URBAN “MR SEE SAW JR” FINISHES 2ND OR 3RD IN HIS DIVISION 4 OUT OF HIS 9 SEASONS SO FAR. UP AND DOWN.
URBAN WAS PRE-SEASON #1 ONE LAST YEAR. CAN’T HANDLE SUCCESS.
Delbert D.
June 6th, 2010
7:33 pm
Maybe 12-2 and 11-3. Or, flip a coin and pick it the other way.
Nick Saban
June 6th, 2010
8:46 pm
Mark, You sure do have a ton of confidence in UF’s first year qb. I will predict that the gaytors will lose 3 or 4 games. Mark it down !!
Best of Atlanta
June 6th, 2010
10:25 pm
————————————
…..Nesbitt for Heisman…..
————————————
Ken Keller
June 6th, 2010
10:39 pm
Bama will lose one game in regular season (at S.Carolina). They will blast Florida in the SECC after they win a close game against Auburn for the West championship the last week. Bama over Ohio State for BCS championship.
Crimson nation
June 6th, 2010
10:58 pm
AL,
You’re just not very bright. Saban does not have a great winning % over the last 15 years because he has coached at some pretty crappy places, Kent state, Mich State which is one of the lesser teams in the big 10 and Michigan’s little brother. Its also the same reason he had never won 10 or more games back to back until he got to Bama.
The only 2 big names he coached at were lau and Bama and you see what he did at both places. At LSU they had 8 losing seasons in the previous 11 years and in Saban’s 2nd year there they won the sec title and in his 4th they won the national title. In his 2nd year of rebuilding a downtrodden bama program he has gone undefeated 2 consecutive regular seasons playing in the toughest division in all of college football. Saban is 17 of 18 in his last 18 sec games. Who else can say that?
Comparing Saban’s overall numbers including stops at Kent State and Mich state and rebuilding 2 major downtrodden programs to someone like Richt who inherited a stable, major program already loaded with good talent is the same as comparing apples and oranges. Its an idiotic way of looking at things and if Richt had coached at some crappy places like Kent State or Mich state he sure as hell wouldn’t have the overall winning #s he has now.
Al
June 6th, 2010
11:27 pm
EXCUSES, EXCUSES. SABAN, IF HE’S SUCH A GREAT COACH, HE SHOULD WIN ANYWHERE. THE GUY WENT 7-6 AT ALABAMA. NICK SABAN “MR SEE SAW”. CAN’T HANDLE SUCCESS. FOLLOWED A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT LSU, WITH 9-3 SEASON. THOSE ARE 2 PRETTY GOOD SCHOOLS–LSU & ALABAMA, AND “THE HUMAN YO-YO” SABAN WENT 7-6 AT ALABAMA, AND FOLLOWED A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR WITH 9-3. ADMIT, HE’S THE MOST INCONSISTENT COACH IN THE NATION. 50% OF HIS SEASONS 8 WINS OR LESS. OVER-RATED. GOT LUCKY COUPLE OF TIMES OFF OTHER COACH’S RECRUITS. FAILURE IN NFL TOO.
Al
June 6th, 2010
11:29 pm
LIKE TO SEE NICK SABAN GET OFF THE SEE SAW AND FINISH IN THE TOP 10 POLL 4 TIMES IN A ROW–LIKE “MR CONSISTENCY” COACH MARK RICHT. RICHT’S WIN % IS #3 AMONG ACTIVE COACHES WITH AT LEAST 6 YEARS EXPERIENCE.
Al
June 6th, 2010
11:35 pm
ANYONE CAN GET LUCKY AND WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OR TWO OVER 16 YEARS OF HEAD COACHING. BUT IT TAKES A GREAT COACH TO HAVE A .769 WINNING PERCENTAGE AND GET 90 WINS IN 9 SEASONS.
THERE ARE SOME THAT MEASURE GREATNESS BY WINS AND CONSISTENCY, NOT FLUKE 1 SEASON WONDERS/CHAMPIONSHIPS.
meyer, coach
June 7th, 2010
12:01 am
Anyone but Richt!!!!
Ur a Moron
June 7th, 2010
1:47 am
The guy who made this article is either a homer or a flat out moron. Tennessee will lose 6 of their first 8 my ass. You have got to be kidding me. You really aren’t that stupid are you?
Sid
June 7th, 2010
7:30 am
Love the speculation, the possibilities, but the reality is everybody is tied @ 0-0…………….
National Champions
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Florida
7. TCU
8. Iowa
9. Nebraska
10. Wisconsin
11. Georgia Tech
12. Southern California
13. Penn State
14. Virginia Tech
15. Miami FL
16. Oklahoma
17. Oregon State
18. Cincinnati
19. North Carolina
20. Arkansas
21. Louisiana State
22. Utah
23. Florida State
24. West Virginia
25. Georgia
Rivals
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Boise State
5. USC
6. TCU
7. Nebraska
8. Texas
9. Wisconsin
10. Florida
11. Virginia Tech
12. Oklahoma
13. Pittsburgh
14. Iowa
15. Georgia Tech
16. LSU
17. North Carolina
18. Miami
19. Connecticut
20. Oregon State
21. Houston
22. Utah
23. Arkansas
24. Penn State
25. Cincinnati
Bleacher Report
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Iowa
5. Oregon
6. Florida
7. Virginia Tech
8. LSU
9. Texas
10. Nebraska
11. Georgia Tech
12. Cincinnati
13. Penn State
14. Oklahoma
15. Wisconsin
16. Uconn
17. Miami (FL)
18. Arkansas
19. Oregon State
20. Texas Tech
21. TCU
22. Georgia
23. Stanford
24. North Carolina
25. Utah
Mark Schlabach
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. Virginia Tech
7. TCU
8. Nebraska
9. Iowa
10. Wisconsin
11. Florida
12. Oklahoma
13. Georgia Tech
14. Cincinnati
15. Pittsburgh
16. Arkansas
17. Miami (FL)
18. LSU
19. Penn State
20. USC
21. Florida State
22. Oregon State
23. Georgia
24. Stanford
25. Navy
Mercury News
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Oregon
5. Miami
6. Virginia Tech
7. Texas Christian
8. Iowa
9. Nebraska
10. USC
11. Georgia Tech
12. Arkansas
13. Wisconsin
14. Texas
15. Florida
16. Houston
17. Oklahoma
18. Tennessee
19. Oregon State
20. Missouri
21. South Carolina
22. North Carolina
23. Arizona
24. Michigan
25. West Virginia
College Football Saturday
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Boise State
5. Florida
6. TCU
7. Texas
8. Iowa
9. Virginia Tech
10. Miami
11. USC
12. Georgia Tech
13. LSU
14. Wisconsin
15. Oklahoma
16. Nebraska
17. Oregon State
18. South Carolina
19. Arkansas
20. West Virginia
21. Pitt
22. Georgia
23. Cincy
24. Auburn
25. Nevada
Scout
1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Ohio State
5. Nebraska
6. Oklahoma
7. Virginia Tech
8. Boise State
9. Wisconsin
10. LSU
11. Oregon
12. Iowa
13. Penn State
14. North Carolina
15. USC
16. Georgia Tech
17. Miami
18. TCU
19. Auburn
20. Georgia
21. West Virginia
22. Florida State
23. Utah
24. Arkansas
25. BYU
Sports Illustrated
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Boise State
4. Texas
5. Iowa
6. Oregon
7. TCU
8. Georgia Tech
9. Virginia Tech
10. Wisconsin
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. Oklahoma
14. Miami (FL)
15. Nebraska
16. Pitt
17. Oregon State
18. North Carolina
19. Cincy
20. Cal
21. Houston
22. Georgia
23. LSU
24. BYU
25. Utah
670 the Score
1. Alabama
2. Boise State
3. Ohio State
4. Oregon
5. Texas
6. TCU
7. Virginia Tech
8. Florida
9. Iowa
10. Nebraska
11. USC
12. Wisconsin
13. Oregon State
14. Oklahoma
15. Arkansas
16. LSU
17. Miami
18. Georgia Tech
19. Pittsburgh
20. North Carolina
21. Penn State
22. California
23. Utah
24. Houston
25. Uconn
» SEC links: Vanderbilt forces showdown with Louisville John Clay’s Sidelines
June 7th, 2010
7:53 am
[...] Georgia will win nine football games this fall, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
GatorRaid 81
June 7th, 2010
9:39 am
Great picks, couldn’t agree more. Although i do think Georgia will be worse than you predict, Richt is done after this year and i think this is what most Georgia fans want deep down inside. They know Richt will never be able to get over the hump. Florida winning the National Championship is a real sleeper pick, one that i wouldn’t even make, but i do think we win the SEC and finnish with 2 losses.
GatorRaid 81
June 7th, 2010
9:42 am
Great picks, Go Gators. 3 National Titles in 5 years and Mark Richt will be let go after this year. Bulldog nation is on suicide watch. HA HA HA
Delbert D.
June 7th, 2010
10:06 am
This Phil Steele “most accurate” thing bothers me. He’s weasel-wording his picks. Paraphrasing: “Georgia may run the table…but I rank them at #13.”
Big Chubby
June 7th, 2010
12:50 pm
Phil Steele is a joke.
Ray Goof
June 7th, 2010
12:54 pm
AS a Gator fan Mark Bradley is a divine prophet…just hope he’s right
Lunchtime links: Farewell season for Ingram? | Hog Country Online
June 7th, 2010
1:04 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts Georgia will go 9-3 and finish third in the SEC East. [...]
Terry
June 7th, 2010
1:18 pm
S. Car will only lose one game. Alabama will beat the Gamecocks, but it will feel like a loss because of the injuries to runningbacks.
HeisMAN
June 7th, 2010
1:24 pm
Case Keenum? Boise State? File both of those under the enormous IRRELEVANT label.
Lunchtime links: Farewell season for Ingram? | theSPORTSpage Arkansas
June 7th, 2010
1:39 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts Georgia will go 9-3 and finish third in the SEC East. [...]
Lunchtime links: Farewell season for Ingram? | SportsTalk South
June 7th, 2010
1:42 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts Georgia will go 9-3 and finish third in the SEC East. [...]
Josh
June 7th, 2010
2:05 pm
this guy’s an idiot
frank n. stein
June 7th, 2010
2:10 pm
We will continue to suprise people. GO BRONCOS!!!
Lunchtime links: Farewell for Ingram? | SportsTalk South
June 7th, 2010
3:16 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution predicts Georgia will go 9-3 and finish third in the SEC East. [...]
iPig
June 7th, 2010
3:31 pm
TommyP: “How will Arkansas stop Georgia? Can they stop anyone???? In Athens, right?”
I’ve always loved this logic. They’ve never HAD a solid defense, so they’ll never HAVE a solid defense. Right. Just like New Orleans had never WON a Super Bowl, so they’ll never WIN one. Whoops.
Things change. You’ll see Sept. 18.
Stinger B
June 7th, 2010
3:46 pm
Tech beats Georgia big in 2010—mark it down! Ga’s D is overrated and murray will not even last the year—he’s not that good.
athenslocal
June 7th, 2010
5:58 pm
these could be the dumbest predictions i have ever read….your probably that guy that has 2 or 3 14 seeds in the elite eight because you are “non-conforming”….look man college football changes every year, florida wont be as good, georgia will be better, boise state wont lose, and case keenum will not be hiesman.
HEART OF DIXIE
June 7th, 2010
6:08 pm
GA 84. Improvement from 09
Sorry but You must be able to beat one of these: FLA, AUB, ARK, GA Tech to be looking at 9-3; you might have a bit of difficulty against KEN, SC. So, like to pull for you to be in Atlanta for the Championship—gotta spank the Gators and Auburn to make it there. Two losses max in SEC. You also need to beat GIT to have a chance at a Nat Championship. Good article–I will try not to be obnoxious like so many others in ALA—but there are some wacked out posters.
Have a great season Bulldogs–it would be great to have BAMA-GA in the SEC Championship. Old times there are not forgotten.
Bill Groome
June 7th, 2010
6:36 pm
UGA lose to SC????? Ha,ha,ha. I doubt it, SC is UGA’s Bit##. Don’t bet the farm on that one Mark.
Dawglover
June 7th, 2010
7:28 pm
Say what you want about Garcia. He lit UGa up last year and he is far better than Murray. Keep buying Spurrier’s ragging on Garcia.